A member of the Native American group Apache Stronghold holding a protest card ahead of formally asking the US Supreme Court to overturn an earlier ruling allowing Rio Tinto to develop the Resolution Copper mine in Arizona, outside the court in Washington. — Reuters
NATIVE American opposition to Rio Tinto and BHP’s Resolution Copper mine could prove crucial for the 2024 US presidential vote in the battleground state of Arizona, underscoring the high tension over where best to extract critical minerals for the energy transition.
The mine would, if built, supply more than a quarter of America’s appetite for copper and be a key part of Washington’s efforts to eat into China’s role as the world’s largest copper processor and consumer.
